Ring‐Opening Reactions of 3‐Aryl‐1‐benzylaziridine‐2‐carboxylates and Application to the Asymmetric Synthesis of an Amphetamine‐Type Compound

Nucleophilic ring‐opening reactions of 3‐aryl‐1‐benzylaziridine‐2‐carboxylates were examined by using O‐nucleophiles and aromatic C‐nucleophiles. The stereospecificity was found to depend on substrates and conditions used. Configuration inversion at C(3) was observed with O‐nucleophiles as a major reaction path in the ring‐opening reactions of aziridines carrying an electron‐poor aromatic moiety, whereas mixtures containing preferentially the syn‐diastereoisomer were generally obtained when electron‐rich aziridines were used (Tables 1–3). In the reactions of electron‐rich aziridines with C‐nucleophiles, S_N2 reactions yielding anti‐type products were observed (Table 4). Reductive ring‐opening reaction by catalytic hydrogenation of (+)‐trans‐(2S,3R)‐3‐(1,3‐benzodioxol‐5‐yl)aziridine‐2‐carboxylate (+)‐trans‐ 3c afforded the corresponding α‐amino acid derivative, which was smoothly transformed into (+)‐tert‐butyl [(1R)‐2‐(1,3‐benzodioxol‐5‐yl)‐1‐methylethyl]carbamate((+)‐ 14 ) with high retention of optical purity (Scheme 6).     

Double Stereodifferentiation in the Catalytic Asymmetric Aziridination of Imines Prepared from α‐Chiral Amines

The catalytic asymmetric aziridination of imines and diazo compounds (AZ reaction) mediated by boroxinate catalysts derived from the VANOL and VAPOL ligands was investigated with chiral imines derived from five different chiral, disubstituted, methyl amines. The strongest matched and mismatched reactions with the two enantiomers of the catalyst were noted with disubstituted methyl amines that had one aromatic and one aliphatic substituent. The synthetic scope for the AZ reaction was examined in detail for α‐methylbenzyl amine for cis‐aziridines from α‐diazo esters and for trans‐aziridines from α‐diazo acetamides. Optically pure aziridines could be routinely obtained in good yields and with high diastereoselectivity and the minor diastereomer (if any) could be easily separated. The matched case for cis‐aziridines involved the (R)‐amine with the (S)‐ligand, but curiously, for trans‐aziridines the matched case involved the (R)‐amine with the (R)‐ligand for imines derived from benzaldehyde and n‐butanal, and the (R)‐amine with the (S)‐ligand for imines derived from the bulkier aliphatic aldehydes pivaldehyde and cyclohexane carboxaldehyde.     

Comparing Cyclophellitol N‐Alkyl and N‐Acyl Cyclophellitol Aziridines as Activity‐Based Glycosidase Probes

The synthesis and evaluation as activity‐based probes (ABPs) of three configurationally distinct, fluorescent N‐alkyl cyclophellitol aziridine isosteres for profiling GH1 β‐glucosidase (GBA), GH27 α‐galactosidase (GLA) and GH29 α‐fucosidase (FUCA) is described. In comparison with the corresponding acyl aziridine ABPs reported previously, the alkyl aziridine ABPs are synthesized easily and are more stable in mild acidic and basic media, and are thus easier to handle. The β‐glucose‐configured alkyl aziridine ABP proves equally effective in labeling GBA as its N‐acyl counterpart, whereas the N‐acyl aziridines targeting GLA and FUCA outperform their N‐alkyl counterparts. Alkyl aziridines can therefore be an attractive alternative in retaining glycosidase ABP design, but in targeting a new retaining glycosidase both N‐alkyl and N‐acyl aziridines are best considered at the onset of a new study.     

Ring Opening of N‐Sulfonyl Aziridines by Amines in Silica‐Water

Ring opening reactions of N‐sulfonyl aziridines by primary and secondary amines in silica gel (SG)‐water system were achieved, which provided a mild, practical and environmentally benign method to synthesize mono‐ and bis‐sulfonyl substituted amines. When primary and secondary amines were used in excess, they reacted with N‐sulfonyl aziridines smoothly at room temperature, mainly affording 1:1 ring opening products. Reactions of primary amines with 2 equiv. of aziridines produced 2:1 ring opening products. Some 1:1 products can be cyclized with CS₂ to synthesize N‐sulfonyl cyclothioureas also in water.     

Desymmetrization of meso‐N‐Sulfonylaziridines with Chiral Nonracemic Nucleophiles and Bases

The cyclohexene‐derived aziridine 7‐tosyl‐7‐azabicyclo[4.1.0]heptane ( 1 ) reacts with Grignard reagents in the presence of chiral nonracemic Cu‐catalysts to afford sulfonamides 3a – e (Scheme 3) in up to 91% ee under optimized conditions (Table 2). No activation of the aziridine by Lewis acids is required. The reaction may be extended to other bicyclic N‐sulfonylated aziridines, but aziridines derived from acyclic olefins, cyclooctene, and trinorbornene are unreactive under standard conditions (Scheme 5). Exposure of 1 to s‐BuLi in the presence of (−)‐sparteine (2.8 equiv.) affords the allylic sulfonamide 31 in 35% yield and 39% ee (Scheme 6). Under the same conditions, the aziridines 33 and 35 yield products 34 and 36 derived from intramolecular carbenoid insertion with 75 and 43% ee, respectively.     

Regioselective Ring‐Opening of Amino Acid‐Derived Chiral Aziridines: an Easy Access to cis‐2,5‐Disubstituted Chiral Piperazines

An efficient four‐step synthetic strategy for cis‐2,5‐disubstituted chiral piperazines derived from amino‐acid‐based aziridines is described. The key steps in this strategy are the highly regioselective boron trifluoride diethyl etherate (BF₃ ⋅ OEt₂)‐mediated ring‐opening of less‐reactive N‐Ts chiral aziridines by α‐amino acid methyl ester hydrochloride followed by Mitsunobu cyclization. This protocol has been used in an attempt to construct the piperazine core framework of natural product (+)‐piperazinomycin.     

酸性离子液体催化的羟基化合物对N-对甲苯磺酰基氮杂环丙烷的开环反应

本文研究了羟基化合物对两种类型N-对甲苯磺酰基氮杂环丙烷的开环反应。在功能性离子液体[hmim]HSO4存在条件下,氮杂环丙烷与醇反应,以中等到高的产率和非常高的区域选择性得到对应的β-胺基醚。并且离子液体[hmim]HSO4可以循环使用。     

Diastereo‐ and Regioselective Addition of Thioamide Dianions to Imines and Aziridines: Synthesis of N‐Thioacyl‐1,2‐diamines and N‐Thioacyl‐1,3‐diamines

Addition reactions of thioamide dianions that were derived from N‐arylmethyl thioamides to imines and aziridines were carried out. The reactions of imines gave the addition products of N‐thioacyl‐1,2‐diamines in a highly diastereoselective manner in good‐to‐excellent yields. The diastereomeric purity of these N‐thioacyl‐1,2‐diamines could be enriched by simple recrystallization. The reduction of N‐thioacyl‐1,2‐diamines with LiAlH₄ gave their corresponding 1,2‐diamines in moderate‐to‐good yields with retention of their stereochemistry. The oxidative‐desulfurization/cyclization of an N‐thioacyl‐1,2‐diamine in CuCl₂/O₂ and I₂/pyridine systems gave the cyclized product in moderate yield and the trans isomer was obtained as the sole product. On the other hand, a similar cyclization reaction with antiformin (aq. NaClO) as an oxidant gave the cis isomer as the major product. The reactions of N‐tosylaziridines gave the addition products of N‐thioacyl‐1,3‐diamines with low diastereoselectivity but high regioselectivity and in good‐to‐excellent yields. The use of AlMe₃ as an additive improved the efficiency and regioselectivity of the reaction. The stereochemistry of the obtained products was determined by X‐ray diffraction.     

Modular One‐Step Three‐Component Synthesis of Tetrahydroisoquinolines Using a Catellani Strategy

Reported is a modular one‐step three‐component synthesis of tetrahydroisoquinolines using a Catellani strategy. This process exploits aziridines as the alkylating reagents, through palladium/norbornene cooperative catalysis, to enable a Catellani/Heck/aza‐Michael addition cascade. This mild, chemoselective, and scalable protocol has broad substrate scope (43 examples, up to 90 % yield). The most striking feature of this protocol is the excellent regioselectivity and diastereoselectivity observed for 2‐alkyl‐ and 2‐aryl‐substituted aziridines to access 1,3‐cis‐substituted and 1,4‐cis‐substituted tetrahydroisoquinolines, respectively. Moreover, this is a versatile process with high step and atom economy.     

Catalytic Asymmetric Synthesis of Alkynyl Aziridines: Both Enantiomers of cis‐Aziridines from One Enantiomer of the Catalyst

Alkynyl aziridines can be obtained from the catalytic asymmetric aziridination (AZ reaction) of alkynyl imines with diazo compounds in high yields and high asymmetric inductions mediated by a chiral boroxinate or BOROX catalyst. In contrast to the AZ reaction with aryl‐ and alkyl‐substituted imines, alkynyl imines react to give cis‐substituted aziridines with both diazo esters and diazo acetamides. Remarkably, however, the two diazo compounds give different enantiomers of the cis‐aziridine from the same enantiomer of the catalyst. Theoretical considerations of the possible transition states for the enantiogenic step reveal that the switch in enantiomers results from a switch from Si‐face to Re‐face addition to the imine, which in turn is related to a switch from reaction with an E‐imine in the former and a Z‐isomer of the imine in the latter.     

Synthesis of Three‐, Five‐, and Six‐Membered Heterocycles Derived from New β‐Amino‐α‐(trifluoromethyl) Alcohols

Nucleophilic trifluoromethylation of α‐imino ketones 2 , derived from arylglyoxal, with Ruppert–Prakash reagent (CF₃SiMe₃) offers a convenient access to the corresponding O‐silylated β‐imino‐α‐(trifluoromethyl) alcohols. In a ‘one‐pot’ procedure, by treatment with NaBH₄, these products smoothly undergo reduction and desilylation yielding the expected β‐amino‐α‐(trifluoromethyl) alcohols 4 . The latter were used as starting materials for the synthesis of diverse trifluoromethylated heterocycles, including aziridines 5 , 1,3‐oxazolidines 8 , 1,3‐oxazolidin‐2‐ones 9 , 1,3,2‐oxazaphospholidine 2‐oxides 10 , 1,2,3‐oxathiazolidine 2‐oxides 11 , and morpholine‐2,3‐diones 12 . An optically active 5‐(trifluoromethyl)‐substituted 1,3‐oxazolidin‐2‐one 9g was also obtained.     

Stereoselective Lewis Acid Mediated (3+2) Cycloadditions of N‐H‐ and N‐Sulfonylaziridines with Heterocumulenes

Alkyl and aryl isothiocyanates and carbodiimides are effective substrates in (3+2) cycloadditions with N‐sulfonyl‐2‐substituted aziridines and 2‐phenylaziridine for the synthesis of iminothiazolidines and iminoimidazolidines. Additionally, the stereoselective (3+2) cycloaddition of N‐H‐ and N‐sulfonylaziridines with isothiocyanates can be accomplished, allowing for the synthesis of highly enantioenriched iminothiazolidines. Evidence for an intimate ion‐pair mechanism is presented herein in the context of these chemo‐, regio‐, and diastereoselective transformations. The demonstrated ability to remove the sulfonyl group from the heterocyclic products displays the utility of these compounds for further derivatization and application.     

LiAlH4‐Induced Selective Ring Rearrangement of 2‐(2‐Cyanoethyl)aziridines toward 2‐(Aminomethyl)pyrrolidines and 3‐Aminopiperidines as Eligible Heterocyclic Building Blocks

2‐(2‐Cyanoethyl)aziridines and 2‐aryl‐3‐(2‐cyanoethyl)aziridines were deployed as substrates for an In(OTf)₃‐mediated regio‐ and stereoselective ring rearrangement upon treatment with LiAlH₄, affording a variety of novel 2‐(aminomethyl)pyrrolidines and 3‐aminopiperidines, respectively. Further synthetic elaboration of the obtained 3‐aminopiperidines resulted in the formation of a peculiar and unexplored conformationally constrained imidazolidinone and diketopiperazine scaffold.     

Visible‐Light Promoted Distereodivergent Intramolecular Oxyamidation of Alkenes

The visible‐light‐promoted diastereodivergent intramolecular oxyamination of alkenes is described to construct oxazolindinones, pyrrolidinones and imidazolidones via mild generation of primary amidyl radicals from functionalized hydroxylamines. A unique phenomenon of highly diastereoselective ring‐opening of aziridines controlled by electron sacrifices was observed. Highly diastereoselective amino alcohols derivatives were obtained efficiently through this protocol in gram scales. The mechanistic studies suggested the isolatable anti‐aziridine intermediates were generated quickly from primary amidyl radicals and the diastereoselectivities were controlled by pK_a values of the electron sacrifices.     

Efficient Regio‐ and Stereoselective Conversions of Oxiranes and Aziridines into β‐(Nitrooxy)‐Substituted Alcohols and Amines by Using Bismuth Nitrate

Oxiranes and aziridines efficiently undergo ring opening with bismuth nitrate at room temperature to furnish the corresponding β‐(nitrooxy)‐substituted alcohols and amines respectively. The conversions are highly regio‐ and stereoselective and afford the nitrooxy‐compounds in excellent yields within a short period of time.     

Nucleophile‐Directed Selective Transformation of cis‐1‐Tosyl‐2‐tosyloxymethyl‐3‐(trifluoromethyl)aziridine into Aziridines,Azetidines, and Benzo‐Fused Dithianes,Oxathianes, Dioxanes,and (Thio)morpholines

A five‐step procedure for the synthesis of cis‐1‐tosyl‐2‐tosyloxymethyl‐3‐(trifluoromethyl)aziridine was developed, starting from 1‐ethoxy‐2,2,2‐trifluoroethanol, involving imination, aziridination, ester reduction, hydrogenation, and N‐,O‐ditosylation steps. Further synthetic elaborations revealed a remarkable difference in the reactivity of cis‐1‐tosyl‐2‐tosyloxymethyl‐3‐(trifluoromethyl)aziridine with respect to aromatic sulfur and oxygen nucleophiles, thus enabling the selective deployment of this versatile substrate as a building block for the synthesis of functionalized aziridines, azetidines, and benzo‐fused dithianes, oxathianes, dioxanes, and (thio)morpholines.     

Synthesis of Functionalized Novel α‐Amino‐β‐alkoxyphosphonates through Regioselective Ring Opening of Aziridine‐2‐phosphonates

Aziridines are highly useful compounds as building blocks for the synthesis of important organic compounds. Amino acid synthesis by aziridine ring opening reaction is a good example to the use of aziridines. Although this reaction is studied by many groups, the synthesis of amino phosphonic acids is less explored. In this study, we have carried out the ring opening reaction of aziridinyl phosphonates with a variety of alcohols including the more functional propargylic and allylic alcohols. These reactions provided functionalized α‐amino‐β‐alkoxyphosphonates in 40–91 % yield.     

Enantioselective Reaction of 2H‐Azirines with Phosphite Using Chiral Bis(imidazoline)/Zinc(II) Catalysts

The first highly enantioselective nucleophilic addition reaction of phosphites with 2H ‐azirines has been developed. The reaction was applied to various 3‐substituted 2H ‐azirines using novel chiral bis(imidazoline)/Zn^II catalysts to afford products in good yield with high enantioselectivity. The transformation of the obtained optically active aziridines showed that 2H ‐azirines act as either α,β‐ or β,β‐dicarbocationic amine synthons.     

Direct and Stereospecific Synthesis of N‐H and N‐Alkyl Aziridines from Unactivated Olefins Using Hydroxylamine‐O‐Sulfonic Acids

A Rh^II‐catalyzed direct and stereospecific N ‐H‐ and N ‐alkyl aziridination of olefins is reported that uses hydroxylamine‐O ‐sulfonic acids as inexpensive, readily available, and nitro group‐free aminating reagents. Unactivated olefins, featuring a wide range of functional groups, are converted into the corresponding N ‐H or N ‐alkyl aziridines in good to excellent yields. This operationally simple, scalable transformation proceeds efficiently at ambient temperature and is tolerant towards oxygen and trace moisture.